Texas v. New York: Legal battle escalates in effort to stop ‘radical abortionist’ from mailing abortion pills across state lines

A legal showdown is escalating between New York and Texas, after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton took action to sanction a “radical abortionist” for mailing abortion pills into the Lone Star state.

Paxton announced last week he had filed a legal petition against the New York Acting County Clerk for Ulster County, Taylor Bruck, who has been upholding New York’s abortion shield laws to protect a New York doctor who shipped abortion drugs into Texas.

It’s the latest instance of state laws clashing in the post Roe v. Wade abortion landscape, as Republican-led states have sought to restrict abortion while Democratic-led states have passed laws to shield abortion providers who provide pills across state lines.

Religious leaders are asking President Donald Trump to stop the mailing of abortion pills, which now account for more than 60% of abortions nationwide, as The Lion has reported.

The leaders note in a letter to Trump that allowing abortion drugs to be shipped from blue states effectively nullifies pro-life laws in other states.

The dispute between Texas and New York began in 2024 when Paxton sued New York-based Dr. Margaret Carpenter for shipping abortion pills from New York to a Texas resident, which he said resulted in “the killing of an unborn child and serious medical complications for the mother.”

Texas’s staunch pro-life laws prevent doctors from sending abortion pills by mail, and Paxton ultimately secured a $100,000 penalty and permanent injunction against Carpenter. 

Yet, Paxton said he has been thwarted from enforcing the penalty because of the Ulster County clerk’s office. The clerk “has plainly rejected any attempt by Texas to enforce the judgment and authorize collection of the penalty,” Paxton said.

Paxton said he is now taking legal action to “ensure” that Carpenter pays up. 

Bruck, the clerk, has insisted that by blocking Paxton he is following New York’s abortion shield laws, and has touted that he is the “first Clerk in New York State to invoke the Shield Law.” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has backed the clerk.

“Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has repeatedly tried to file a judgment against a New York doctor and our response has been clear: hell no,” Hochul said in a statement.

“These extremists are determined to punish a New York doctor for providing safe, legal abortion care. It’s pathetic. It’s dangerous. And it won’t happen on our watch.”

Texas, however, is not backing down, underscoring the deep legal and political divide the two states have when it comes to abortion. 

“Dr. Carpenter is a radical abortionist who must face justice, not get legal protection from New York liberals intent on ending the lives of as many unborn children as they can,” Paxton said.

“No matter where they reside, pro-abortion extremists who send drugs designed to kill the unborn into Texas will face the full force of our state’s pro-life laws.”